Police say suspect in Rockwall teen’s stabbing death confessed after a night in jail on traffic violations

Juan Enrique Torres had ample opportunity to think things out before confessing Thursday afternoon to stabbing Rockwall teen Surie Baeza two days earlier.

Turns out, he was in the Rockwall County Jail after a traffic arrest Wednesday night.

Torres, the estranged boyfriend of Surie’s mother and the father of Surie’s 7-year-old sibling, has now been formally charged with murder. His bail was set at $1 million.

The 41-year-old was pulled over by Rockwall police after driving onto a controlled access highway and was also charged with driving with a suspended license. He was booked into the jail just after 10 p.m. Wednesday.

Surie, a freshman and band member at Rockwall-Heath High School, was stabbed multiple times Tuesday afternoon in her home in the Lake Rockwall Estates subdivision.
Some of her wounds indicated she tried to defend herself.

Torres, who had access to the family’s home, was interviewed after the slaying but was not labeled a suspect or even a person of interest after cooperating fully. He had served probation on a 2008 domestic violence charge.

Surie and Torres lived in separate homes in Lake Rockwall Estates, a 50-year-old subdivision and home to 2,800 mostly low-income residents. It was surrounded by the growing city of Rockwall and annexed in 2009.

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